Ricardo Cortez
- Teen actor
Ricardo Cortez (September 19, 1900 – April 28, 1977) was an American film actor who began his career during the silent film era.
Born Jacob Krantz in New York City into a Jewish family, he worked on Wall Street in a broker's office and as a boxer before his looks got him into the film business. Hollywood executives changed his name to Cortez to appeal to film-goers as a "Latin lover" to compete with such highly popular actors of the era as Rudolph Valentino, Ramon Novarro and Antonio Moreno. When rumour began to circulate that Cortez was not actually Spanish, the studios tried to pass him off as a different type of Latin, French, before they finally admitted his (supposedly) Viennese origin.
Cortez appeared in over 100 films. He played opposite Joan Crawford in Montana Moon in 1930, played Sam Spade in the original The Maltese Falcon in 1931, co-starred with Charles Farrell and Bette Davis in The Big Shakedown and Wonder Bar (with Al Jolson and Dolores del Río) in 1934. He also played Perry Mason in the 1936 film The Case of the Black Cat. Although he began his career playing romantic leads with actresses like Greta Garbo, when sound cinema arrived, his powerful delivery and New York accent made him an ideal villain and conman, and he switched from sex symbol to character actor.
Cortez was married to silent film actress Alma Rubens until her death of pneumonia in 1931.
When he retired from the film business, Cortez went to work as a stockbroker for Solomon Brothers on New York's Wall Street. He died in New York City in 1977 and was interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx.
He was the older brother of noted cinematographer Stanley Cortez (born Stanislaus Krantz).
Acted in
Complicated Women
2003
as Self (archive footage)
Greta Garbo: The Temptress and the Clown
1986
as Self as Don Rafael Brull (archive footage)
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood
1960
as Self
The Last Hurrah
1958
as Sam Weinberg
This Is Your Life
1952
as Self
Bunco Squad
1950
as Tony Weldon / Anthony Wells
Mystery in Mexico
1948
as John Norcross
Blackmail
1947
as Ziggy Cranston
The Locket
1946
as Drew Bonner
The Inner Circle
1946
as Duke York
Make Your Own Bed
1944
as Wilson / Fritz Alden
Tomorrow We Live
1942
as The Ghost, Alexander Caesar Martin
Rubber Racketeers
1942
as Gilin
Who Is Hope Schuyler?
1942
as Anthony Pearce
I Killed That Man
1941
as Roger Phillips
World Premiere
1941
as Mark Saunders
A Shot in the Dark
1941
as Phillip Richards
Romance of the Rio Grande
1941
as Ricardo de Vega
Murder Over New York
1940
as George Kirby
Charlie Chan in Reno
1939
as Dr. Ainsley
Mr. Moto's Last Warning
1939
as Fabian
City Girl
1938
as Charles Blake
Breakdowns of 1937
1937
as Self
West of Shanghai
1937
as Gordon Creed
The Californian
1937
as Ramon Escobar
Her Husband Lies
1937
as J. Ward Thomas
Breakdowns of 1936
1936
as Self
Talk of the Devil
1936
as Ray Allen
The Case of the Black Cat
1936
as Perry Mason
Postal Inspector
1936
as Inspector Bill Davis
Sunkist Stars at Palm Springs
1936
The Walking Dead
1936
as Nolan
Man Hunt
1936
as Frank Kingman
The Murder of Dr. Harrigan
1936
as George Lambert
Frisco Kid
1935
as Paul Morra
Special Agent
1935
as Alexander Carston
Manhattan Moon
1935
as Dan Moore
Shadow of Doubt
1935
as Sim
The White Cockatoo
1935
as Jim Sundean
I Am a Thief
1934
as Pierre Londais
The Firebird
1934
as Herman Brandt
A Lost Lady
1934
as Ellinger
The Man with Two Faces
1934
as Ben Weston
Hat, Coat and Glove
1934
as Robert Mitchell
Wonder Bar
1934
as Harry
Hollywood Newsreel
1934
as Himself
Mandalay
1934
as Tony Evans
The Big Shakedown
1934
as Dutch Barnes
The House on 56th Street
1933
as Bill Blaine
Big Executive
1933
as Victor Conway
Torch Singer
1933
as Tony Cummings
Midnight Mary
1933
as Leo
Broadway Bad
1933
as Craig Cutting
Flesh
1932
as Nicky
The Phantom of Crestwood
1932
as Gary Curtis
Thirteen Women
1932
as Police Sergeant Barry Clive
Is My Face Red?
1932
as William Poster
Symphony of Six Million
1932
as Felix
No One Man
1932
as Bill Hanaway
Men of Chance
1931
as Johnny Silk
Reckless Living
1931
as Curly
Bad Company
1931
as Goldie Gorio
Transgression
1931
as Don Arturo de Borgus
Big Business Girl
1931
as Robert J. Clayton
Screen Snapshots (Series 10, No. 8)
1931
as Self
The Maltese Falcon
1931
as Sam Spade
White Shoulders
1931
as Lawrence Marchmont
Behind Office Doors
1931
as Ronnie Wales
Illicit
1931
as Price Baines
Ten Cents a Dance
1931
as Bradley Carlton
Her Man
1930
as Johnnie
Montana Moon
1930
as Jeff
The Lost Zeppelin
1929
as Tom Armstrong
The Phantom in the House
1929
as Paul Wallis
Midstream
1929
as James Stanwood
New Orleans
1929
as Jim Morley
The Younger Generation
1929
as Morris Goldfish
Excess Baggage
1928
as Val D'Errico
Woman of Destiny
1928
as Yoanes Etchegarry
The Private Life of Helen of Troy
1927
as Paris
Mockery
1927
as Dimitri
New York
1927
as Michael Angelo Cassidy
The Eagle of the Sea
1926
as Captain Sazarac
The Sorrows of Satan
1926
as Geoffrey Tempest
The Cat's Pajamas
1926
Volcano
1926
as Stéphane Séquineau
Torrent
1926
as Don Rafael Brull
Not So Long Ago
1925
as Billy Ballard
The Pony Express
1925
as Jack Weston
In the Name of Love
1925
as Raoul Melnotte
The Spaniard
1925
as Don Pedro de Barrego
The Swan
1925
as Dr. Walter, the Tutor
Argentine Love
1924
as Juan Martin
This Woman
1924
as Whitney Duane
Feet of Clay
1924
as Tony Channing
The Bedroom Window
1924
as Robert Delano
A Society Scandal
1924
as Harrison Peters
The Next Corner
1924
as Don Arturo
The Call of the Canyon
1923
as Larry Morrison
Hollywood
1923
as Ricardo Cortez
Children of Jazz
1923
as Ted Carter
The Gentleman from America
1923